President Bola Tinubu’s wife, Oluremi Tinubu, on Monday tried to end the debate over her recent comments about informal businesses, saying the Federal Government’s empowerment programme is not meant for only “akara” sellers.
She said the programme also supports thousands of people who sell tomatoes, pepper, vegetables and roasted plantain across the country.
Her earlier comments about “akara, roasted corn and kuli-kuli” businesses had faced heavy criticism on social media, with many Nigerians saying they did not reflect the country’s tough economic situation.
Speaking during the inauguration of the newly built Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa State, Mrs Tinubu said the government had already given N100 million to the Jigawa State Government to support 2,000 petty traders.
“Because of the atmosphere, what is going on, I’ve told Her Excellency that we’ve already given, donated about 100 million to her to use to empower 2,000 petty traders.
“And I know they’ve been talking that I said akara. It’s not only akara, we also have tomato sellers. We have “booli” and those also selling pepper, selling vegetables for us in the market.
“We will continue to empower them and add to their resources so that their trade can really be sustainable. So that is what we are doing,” she said.
She said each of the 2,000 beneficiaries would receive N50,000 to help grow their businesses.
“We continue to carry the capacity. We have the amount of 2,000 women who are already in small businesses. They will recapitalise their businesses with the N50,000 each. We’ve already given the N100 million,” she added.
Mrs Tinubu also said criticism would not stop the government’s empowerment efforts.
“I know all those people who are affected, they do appreciate it. And we are not intimidated by all those wrong reports. But we are forging ahead and making sure that our people, you know, are well cared for,” Mrs Tinubu said.
She also urged young Nigerians to look beyond oil and take advantage of opportunities in agriculture and other natural resources.
“Nigeria is a really blessed country. I’ve been travelling, and I pray that our young people will see the resources we have in this nation. We have not even gone to explore yet because we are thinking it’s oil. But there are so many things,” she said.
